Civ4 Release Ende Oktober?

As we noted in the beginning, Civ IV is a much more colorful game than its predecessors. The rest of the music is as colorful and varied as the cheery opening theme, while the sound effects are quite good. Meanwhile, the game earns some extra points in our book, because every time you research a new technology, the grandfatherly voice of Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock himself!) kicks in with an appropriate quote from history. Graphically, we must admit the game does take some getting used to, but it does grow on you, particularly in how it feels more alive than previous Civ entries. There are also lots of neat graphical touches, like the fact that if you zoom in close enough on the world map, you can see all the improvements and wonders you’ve built in a particular city. We also love the way that cities actually “sprawl” out now, as if they’re taking over neighboring tiles. Now big cities really “look” like big cities on the map. Meanwhile, as it’s developed, the countryside takes on a life of its own, as towns and villages sprout up between cities.

We’ve easily played hours upon hours of Civ IV since we’ve gotten our hands on it, and yet we can safely say that this only represents the tip of the iceberg. But that’s somehow fitting for a game that encompasses approximately 6,000 years of history. Our sense of Civ IV is that, overall, it’s a big improvement for the franchise. Yes, change can be a scary thing, and undoubtedly some changes will upset some people. However, change can also be a good thing, and in many ways, Civ IV feels like both a whole new game and good old Civilization as we know it.